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Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

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Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#511

Post by MonortYp »

dboreham wrote: post #508

The article doesn't mention this (nor have any of the 500 videos I've watched on YouTube on this subject), but you might find that listening to instrumental music has a significant beneficial effect. Music with lyrics doesn't work for me because I start to follow them. Music from someone long dead can be better because less inclination to pull up their Wikipedia page. Music seems to wedge a wrench in the brain mechan…

I’m the opposite of this - I can only listen to music with lyrics as it gives me something to “listen to” even though I barely hear a word of them let alone remember or be able to sing along. (Faster music like rap or metal is great)

Brown noise is probably the only sound I can tolerate for a long periods of time without lyrics, even better than this is ANC headphones with nothing playing.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#512

Post by berkes »

alok-g wrote: post #504

I have all the symptoms described (inattention type, not hyperactivity), including hyperfocus. A test my therapist had given me indicated that I do have ADHD. However, she told me that I do not actually have ADHD as my hyperfocus does not fit with "attention deficit", and there's alternative explanation for the symptoms from some other issues. Upon reading this post however where inattention and hyperfocus are both m…

> and there's alternative explanation for the symptoms from some other issues

> I feel sure that I did not have ADHD symptoms during childhood

Both are hard requirements for the indication though. (at least in my country where they use the DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders)

* Symptoms must not be attributable to other issues.

* ADHD must have been there all your life, so before a certain age (in my country 12yo) symptoms must have been there, and they must be acknowledged. Not necessarily that they were then attributed to ADHD, but they must have been present.

Source: i'm in the diagnosis currently. I'm 45 years old. I'm not a shrink. I'm currently actually supposed to finish my bookkeeping, hence I'm on HN.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#513

Post by swah »

TheRealHB wrote: post #54

The Blinking LED, A simple Hack that still works for me after years: 1. Place a tiny LED (red or yellow) by the side of your monitor or virtually on the screen corner. Basically anywhere almost bordering your field of view. 2. Make it blink like a fast heartbeat (120-150 bpm) and gradually slowdown to around 60 bpm (or your slow heartbeat base). Make the slope approx 20 to 60 minutes (you can adjust the best rate by…

Found an use to my m5stick C+ , will try this

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#514

Post by hirvi74 »

alok-g wrote: post #504

I have all the symptoms described (inattention type, not hyperactivity), including hyperfocus. A test my therapist had given me indicated that I do have ADHD. However, she told me that I do not actually have ADHD as my hyperfocus does not fit with "attention deficit", and there's alternative explanation for the symptoms from some other issues. Upon reading this post however where inattention and hyperfocus are both m…

Is your therapist a clinical psychologist or psychiatrist? If not, I would take what she says with a great skepticism.

> I feel sure that I did not have ADHD symptoms during childhood.

That would be an instant disqualification of an ADHD diagnosis.

> I believe have come extreme and unusual mental stresses I have been subjected for several years

I am not a clinician nor do I know the full extent/magnitude of your stresses, but have you ever investigated (C)PTSD? If can mimic many ADHD symptoms.

> However, there's not enough literature on ADHD coming during adulthood. . . Most, like the OP, say that it would have gone undetected during childhood. Some say that ADHD can develop during adulthood too. I have also read that Adult ADHD seemingly has a different mechanism than ADHD that develops during childhood.

Based on what is commonly understood about the condition, it cannot come on in Adulthood. Similar to how there is no Adult-onset Autism. You're born with it or without it. Also, just because symptoms were not "detected in childhood" does not mean the symptoms did not exist in childhood. My symptoms were not detected in childhood, but oh boy, were the signs and symptoms there. I just grew up in the South East, US where stuff like ADHD just didn't exist, and I and plenty others were punished and ridiculed for our "daydreaming," "restlessness," "laziness," and "inappropriate behavior."

Personally, I am not sure if I buy the research on this topic though. Then again, I also think the label "ADHD" is just like "Cancer" -- a massive blanket-term for multiple similar conditions. So, who knows? It's not like there is a single biomarker that has ever been discovered that can be used to diagnosis the condition. It's all just professional opinions based on agreed upon patterns and heuristics.

Anyway, I hope you figure out something that works for you.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#516

Post by tired_star_nrg »

dboreham wrote: post #508

The article doesn't mention this (nor have any of the 500 videos I've watched on YouTube on this subject), but you might find that listening to instrumental music has a significant beneficial effect. Music with lyrics doesn't work for me because I start to follow them. Music from someone long dead can be better because less inclination to pull up their Wikipedia page. Music seems to wedge a wrench in the brain mechan…

I use instrumental music or one song with a good rhythm on repeat. Since the song is on repeat, it doesn’t matter that there are lyrics - it all becomes part of the background rhythm.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#517

Post by alok-g »

berkes wrote: post #512
alok-g wrote: post #504

I have all the symptoms described (inattention type, not hyperactivity), including hyperfocus. A test my therapist had given me indicated that I do have ADHD. However, she told me that I do not actually have ADHD as my hyperfocus does not fit with "attention deficit", and there's alternative explanation for the symptoms from some other issues. Upon reading this post however where inattention and hyperfocus are both m…

> and there's alternative explanation for the symptoms from some other issues > I feel sure that I did not have ADHD symptoms during childhood Both are hard requirements for the indication though. (at least in my country where they use the DSM, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) * Symptoms must not be attributable to other issues. * ADHD must have been there all your life, so before a certain age…

The test I was given is called DIVA 2.0. It says it is based on DSM-IV criteria. I have no understanding of how DSM criteria evolved.

The DIVA 2.0 test notes, "Research has indicated that at adult age, four or more characteristics of attention problems and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity are sufficient for the diagnosis of ADHD to be made." I had seven out of seven characteristics for inattentive type ADHD.

I am sure I did not have the symptoms during childhood. I started facing these around 2011 and very distinctly in 2012, when I was 35 years of age.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#518

Post by WraithM »

I can't recommend https://reclaim.ai highly enough, which the article mentions. It's absolutely a game-changer for me. My whole life is scheduled in my calendar. I have a bunch of automatic meetings with my team. It's really been a life-saver for the past couple of years. They're also always improving the product.

Re: Hacking ADHD: Strategies for the modern developer

#519

Post by hirvi74 »

gukov wrote: post #507
alok-g wrote: post #504

I have all the symptoms described (inattention type, not hyperactivity), including hyperfocus. A test my therapist had given me indicated that I do have ADHD. However, she told me that I do not actually have ADHD as my hyperfocus does not fit with "attention deficit", and there's alternative explanation for the symptoms from some other issues. Upon reading this post however where inattention and hyperfocus are both m…

Dr Gabor Mate's theory is that ADHD (and many others) is the body's response to childhood trauma.

Wouldn't that imply that everyone with ADHD had childhood trauma? I can see that explanation being true for some, but not all nor a majority of cases.

I'd be more inclined to believe trauma to the ADHD offspring's mother, while pregnant, would be more explanatory than the offspring's environment post-birth.

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